Managing data

ABSTRACT

An apparatus, method, and system are provided for binding application data associated with an application with content asset data associated with a content asset. In some embodiments, capacity or bandwidth for each of the application data and the content asset data may be allocated in accordance with one or more profiles. The one or more profiles may include horizontal aspects, vertical aspects, linear and non-linear aspects, and the like. In some embodiments, the binding may take place at a content provider location in accordance with early binding practices, at a central location in accordance with late binding practices, and/or at a user equipment device in accordance with user binding practices.

BACKGROUND

The transmission and distribution of content over networks has evolvedover the years. Users expect a service provider to be able to delivercontent in various formats and at various times. Interactive television(iTV) is an example of the evolution of content provisioning services.No longer are users restricted to a passive viewing experience. Forexample, a game show may provide the television viewing audience anopportunity to buzz in or select a correct answer along with acontestant actually on the set.

Conventional techniques for binding an application (e.g., an iTVapplication) to video entail adding data or program identifiers (PIDs)to a(n MPEG-2) transport stream or placing the data in a verticalancillary data space (VANC) or potentially even a vertical blankinginterval (VBI) (if the application is small enough). In order to add thedata associated with the application to an asset, it may be placed on acarousel. In order to load the application faster at a user equipmentdevice (UED), the application may be “spun” faster, or that is to say, agreater proportion of the data included in the carousel is allocated toapplication data relative to the underlying content.

Conventional techniques for associating and loading applications have anumber of disadvantages. For example, given a particular systemconfiguration and associated bandwidth, “spinning” the carousel fasterwith respect to the application data may degrade the quality of theunderlying content. Moreover, conventional techniques fail to accountfor the value of the application as a function of time. Serviceproviders are continuing to seek out improved techniques for deliveringand loading applications on UEDs.

SUMMARY

This summary is not intended to identify critical or essential featuresof the disclosure provided herein, but instead merely summarizes certainfeatures and variations thereof.

In some illustrative embodiments, application data may be allocatedcapacity or bandwidth with respect to a distribution module inaccordance with a non-horizontal profile. For example, in someembodiments the application data may be allocated capacity in accordancewith a vertical profile. The application data may be bound to audioand/or video data associated with a content asset. The audio/video dataand the bound application may be transmitted to one or more devices,such as a user equipment device (UED). In some embodiments, a UED mayextract data PIDs from an audio/video transport stream, the applicationmay be loaded from memory, and triggers may be analyzed to determinewhen various events associated with the application should be executed.In some embodiments, feedback data associated with the use of theaudio/video data and/or the application may be analyzed to modify thecontent asset, the application, or the respective capacity allocated toeach.

Other details and features will also be described in the sections thatfollow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features of the disclosure will become more apparent upon a review ofthis disclosure in its entirety, including the drawing figures providedherewith.

Some features herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in whichlike reference numerals refer to similar elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example information distribution network.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example hardware platform on which the variouselements described herein can be implemented.

FIGS. 3-5 illustrate distribution profiles in accordance with one ormore aspects of this disclosure.

FIGS. 6-8 illustrate example architectures for binding application datato audio/video data in accordance with one or more aspects of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a method in accordance with one or more aspects ofthis disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various connections between elements are discussed in the followingdescription. These connections are general and, unless specifiedotherwise, may be direct or indirect, wired or wireless, and thisspecification is not intended to be limiting in this respect.

In the following description of various illustrative embodiments,reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a parthereof, and in which is shown, by way of illustration, variousembodiments in which aspects of the disclosure may be practiced. It isto be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structuraland functional modifications may be made, without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example information distribution network 100 onwhich many of the various features described herein may be implemented.Network 100 may be any type of information distribution network, such assatellite, telephone, cellular, wireless, etc. One example may be awireless network, an optical fiber network, a coaxial cable network or ahybrid fiber/coax (HFC) distribution network. Such networks 100 use aseries of interconnected communication lines 101 (e.g., coaxial cables,optical fibers, wireless links, etc.) to connect multiple premises 102(e.g., businesses, homes, consumer dwellings, etc.) to a central officeor headend 103. The central office 103 may transmit downstreaminformation signals onto the lines 101, and each premises 102 may have areceiver used to receive and process those signals.

There may be one line 101 originating from the central office 103, andit may be split a number of times to distribute the signal to variouspremises 102 in the vicinity (which may be many miles) of the centraloffice 103. The lines 101 may include components not illustrated, suchas splitters, filters, amplifiers, etc. to help convey the signalclearly, but in general each split introduces a bit of signaldegradation. Portions of the lines 101 may also be implemented withfiber-optic cable, while other portions may be implemented with coaxialcable, other lines, or wireless communication paths. By running fiberoptic cable along some portions, for example, signal degradation inthose portions may be significantly minimized, allowing a single centraloffice 103 to reach even farther with its network of lines 101 thanbefore.

The central office 103 may include a termination system (TS) 104, suchas a cable modem termination system (CMTS) in an HFC-type network, whichmay be a computing device configured to manage communications betweendevices on the network of lines 101 and backend devices such as servers105-107 (to be discussed further below). The termination system (TS) maybe as specified in a standard, such as the Data Over Cable ServiceInterface Specification (DOCSIS) standard, published by Cable TelevisionLaboratories, Inc. (a.k.a. CableLabs), or it may be a similar ormodified device instead. The termination system (TS) may be configuredto place data on one or more downstream frequencies to be received bymodems or other user devices at the various premises 102, and to receiveupstream communications from those modems on one or more upstreamfrequencies. The central office 103 may also include one or more networkinterfaces 108, which can permit the central office 103 to communicatewith various other external networks 109. These networks 109 mayinclude, for example, networks of Internet devices, telephone networks,cellular telephone networks, fiber optic networks, local wirelessnetworks (e.g., WiMAX), satellite networks, and any other desirednetwork, and the interface 108 may include the corresponding circuitryneeded to communicate on the network 109, and to other devices on thenetwork such as a cellular telephone network and its corresponding cellphones.

As noted above, the central office 103 may include a variety of servers105-107 that may be configured to perform various functions. Forexample, the central office 103 may include a push notification server105. The push notification server 105 may generate push notifications todeliver data and/or commands to the various premises 102 in the network(or more specifically, to the devices in the premises 102 that areconfigured to detect such notifications). The central office 103 mayalso include a content and/or data server 106. The content/data server106 may be one or more computing devices that are configured to providecontent to users in the premises 102. This content may be, for example,video on demand movies, television programs, songs, text listings, etc.,and/or data such as contact information, address books, and other userinformation. The content/data server 106 may include software tovalidate user identities and entitlements, locate and retrieve requestedcontent, encrypt the content, and initiate delivery (e.g., streaming) ofthe content to the requesting user and/or device.

The central office 103 may also include one or more application servers107. An application server 107 may be a computing device configured tooffer any desired service, and may run various languages and operatingsystems (e.g., servlets and JSP pages running on Tomcat/MySQL, OSX, BSD,Ubuntu, Redhat, HTMLS, JavaScript, AJAX and COMET). For example, anapplication server may be responsible for collecting television programlistings information and generating a data download for electronicprogram guide or interactive program guide listings. Another applicationserver may be responsible for monitoring user viewing habits andcollecting that information for use in selecting advertisements. Anotherapplication server may be responsible for formatting and insertingadvertisements in a video stream being transmitted to the premises 102.Another application server may be responsible for receiving user remotecontrol commands, and processing them to provide an intelligent remotecontrol experience.

Example premises 102 a may include a modem 110, which may includetransmitters and receivers used to communicate on the lines 101 and withthe central office 103. The modem 110 may be, for example, a coaxialcable modem (for coaxial cable lines 101), a fiber interface node (forfiber optic lines 101), or any other desired device offering similarfunctionality. The modem 110 may be connected to, or be a part of, agateway interface device 111. The gateway interface device 111 may be acomputing device that communicates with the modem 110 to allow one ormore other devices in the premises 102 a to communicate with the centraloffice 103 and other devices beyond the central office. The gateway 111may comprise a set-top box (STB), digital video recorder (DVR), computerserver, or any other desired computing device. The gateway 111 may alsoinclude (not shown) local network interfaces to provide communicationsignals to devices in the premises 102 a, such as televisions 112,additional STBs 113, personal computers 114, laptop computers 115,wireless devices 116 (wireless laptops and netbooks, mobile phones,mobile televisions, personal digital assistants (PDA), etc.), and anyother desired devices. Examples of the local network interfaces includeMultimedia Over Coax Alliance (MoCA) interfaces, Ethernet interfaces,universal serial bus (USB) interfaces, wireless interfaces (e.g., IEEE902.11), Bluetooth interfaces, and others.

FIG. 2 illustrates general hardware elements that can be used toimplement any of the various computing devices discussed above. Thecomputing device 200 may include one or more processors 201, which mayexecute instructions of a computer program to perform any of thefeatures described herein. The instructions may be stored in any type ofcomputer-readable medium or memory, to configure the operation of theprocessor 201. For example, instructions may be stored in a read-onlymemory (ROM) 202, random access memory (RAM) 203, removable media 204,such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive, compact disk (CD) or digitalversatile disk (DVD), floppy disk drive, or any other desired electronicstorage medium. Instructions may also be stored in an attached (orinternal) hard drive 205. The computing device 200 may include one ormore output devices, such as a display 206 (or an external television),and may include one or more output device controllers 207, such as avideo processor. There may also be one or more user input devices 208,such as a remote control, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, microphone,etc. The computing device 200 may also include one or more networkinterfaces, such as input/output circuits 209 (such as a network card)to communicate with an external network 210. The network interface maybe a wired interface, wireless interface, or a combination of the two.In some embodiments, the interface 209 may include a modem (e.g., acable modem), and network 210 may include the communication lines 101discussed above, the external network 109, an in-home network, aprovider's wireless, coaxial, fiber, or hybrid fiber/coaxialdistribution system (e.g., a DOCSIS network), or any other desirednetwork.

By way of introduction, in conventional systems, application data may beallocated to a content asset in a horizontal fashion. FIG. 3demonstrates a data distribution profile for a conventional datadistribution module. For example, the conventional data distributionmodule may have an associated transport stream of 15 Mbits for a contentasset that is thirty (30) seconds in duration. For purposes ofillustration, the content asset may be assumed to be a commercial oradvertisement. Of course, any other content asset of any given durationcould be used, and the capacity or bandwidth associated with thedistribution module may be different in some embodiments.

In FIG. 3, portions of the bandwidth are consumed by application data,audio and video (alternatively, other types of data may instead, oralso, occupy portions of the bandwidth). For example, as shown in FIG. 3(not drawn to scale), over the course of the thirty second advertisementthe application data may be allocated 0.5 Mbits of the 15 Mbit transportstream, the audio may be allocated 1 Mbit of the 15 Mbit transportstream, and the video may be allocated 13.5 Mbits of the 15 Mbittransport stream. In other words, in FIG. 3 the application dataconsumes a constant (or proportional) amount of the capacity orbandwidth associated with the distribution module with respect to thetotal capacity or bandwidth of the distribution module over the entireduration of the advertisement. Thus, the profile shown in FIG. 3 may bereferred to as a “horizontal profile”.

In some embodiments, the distribution profile may be modified from thehorizontal profile shown in FIG. 3. An example of such a modifiedprofile is shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, it is assumed that the samecontent asset (e.g., an advertisement) of the same duration (e.g., 30seconds) is being referenced relative to the profile shown in FIG. 3 forpurposes of facilitating a comparison between the two profiles. In FIG.4, and during the first ten (10) seconds of the content asset, 12.5Mbits of the 15 Mbit transport stream may be allocated to applicationdata, 0.5 Mbits of the 15 Mbit transport stream may be allocated toaudio, and 2 Mbits of the 15 Mbit transport stream may be allocated tovideo. Thereafter (e.g., from 10 seconds to 30 seconds), the allocationof application data may be reduced to 0.2 Mbits, the allocation of audiomay be increased to 1.1 Mbits, and the allocation of video may beincreased to 13.7 Mbits. The profile shown in FIG. 4 may be referred toas a “vertical profile”, due to the change or variation in the relativeproportion of capacity or bandwidth consumed by the application dataincurred at the ten-second point in the content asset.

Relative to the horizontal profile shown in FIG. 3, the profile shown inFIG. 4 may provide for a faster application load on a client device oruser equipment device (UED). For example, during the first 10 seconds ofthe content asset, the application data shown in FIG. 4 consumes 25times more (12.5 Mbits/0.5 Mbits) of the capacity or bandwidth relativeto the application data shown in FIG. 3. All other things being equal,this may result in the application loading at the UED 25 times faster

The profile shown in FIG. 4, relative to the profile shown in FIG. 3,may be more conducive from a user perspective as well. For example,assuming that the underlying content asset includes an advertisement fora product or service, users or consumers may be more likely to purchasethe product or service at the beginning of the advertisement relative tothe end of the advertisement. As such, and assuming that the applicationdata is used to facilitate purchase of the product or service (e.g., byinvoking a banner on a display screen over the top of the advertisementthat allows the user to purchase the product or service), in someembodiments, it might not make sense to devote capacity or bandwidth tothe distribution of the application data towards the end of theadvertisement.

Such a profile is shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, for the first second ofthe advertisement the application data may consume the entirety of the15 Mbit capacity. This may be used to ensure that the application isquickly up and running at the UED. Between 1 and 15 seconds, theproportion of the application data may be reduced (e.g., from 15 Mbitsto 10 Mbits as shown) relative to the audio and video data, which isshown as group 502 in FIG. 5. Then, from 15 seconds to 29 seconds, theproportion of application data may be further reduced (e.g., from 10Mbits to 1.5 Mbits as shown) relative to the audio and video data, whichis shown as group 506 in FIG. 5. Between 29 and 30 seconds, theapplication data may be reduced to zero, and the entirety of thecapacity may be allocated to audio and video as shown.

The profile shown in connection with FIG. 5 may be referred to as a“non-horizontal profile”, in that the application data does not consumea constant (or proportional) capacity or bandwidth for the entireduration of the content asset. However, the profile shown in FIG. 5includes horizontal and vertical profile aspects. For example, duringthe first second shown in FIG. 5 the application data consumes 15 Mbits,thus encompassing horizontal profile aspects. Similarly, at 29 secondsthe application data vertically changes from 1.5 Mbits to OMbits.

The profiles shown in connection with FIGS. 3-5 are illustrative. Insome embodiments the profiles may take on different forms or shapes andmay use different numerical values. For example, variations in theproportions of application data relative to video and audio mayincorporate non-linear aspects (e.g., second or higher order functionsmay be used in some embodiments).

While shown as “application data” in FIGS. 3-5, in some embodimentsother data types may be taken into consideration or included inconnection with the portion of capacity or bandwidth shown with respectto the application data. For example, the other types of data mayinclude electronic programming guide (EPG) data, interactive programmingguide (IPG) data (optionally including applications and applicationdata), closed captioning data, etc.

In some embodiments, a content provider or a service operator maydictate how the profile changes over time. For example, in the contextof a content asset including an advertisement, the advertisementprovider may determine or modify a profile based on marketing data orother studies. In some embodiments, an end-user associated with a UEDmay select how he/she wants an application to be presented, such as viaa depression of a key or button on a remote control device, invoking aselection via one or more menus, etc. The user selection(s) may betransmitted from the UED to a data distribution module (e.g., a datacarousel) or some other computing device (e.g., a server) associatedtherewith, and in response to the user selection(s), the datadistribution module or computing device may establish or modify acorresponding profile.

In terms of binding, associating, or otherwise packaging the applicationdata to the content asset, that binding may take place at one or morelocations. For example, the binding may take place at the origin of thecontent (e.g., at a so-called “copy-house” or content provider), andthat binding may be referred to as “early binding.” An example of acontent provider could be any outlet that provides content, such asapplications or programs (e.g., computer programs), movies, audio (e.g.,music), television programs, any other form of communication (e.g.,emails, text messages), cellular, mobile, or satellite communications,multimedia content, copy houses for advertising, studios, etc.Alternatively, or additionally, the binding may take place at adistribution point (e.g., at a central location such as central office103 of FIG. 1), and that binding may be referred to as “late binding.”In some embodiments, the binding may take place at a UED (e.g., at STB113 of FIG. 1), and that binding may be referred to as “user binding.”

In some embodiments, the choice of what type of binding to use may bebased on a variety of factors, such as the type of content asset and alocation in which the content asset is going to be displayed, played,used, or consumed, (generally, rendered) optionally using one or moreoutput devices (e.g., display devices and/or audio speakers) associatedwith a UED. For example, if the content asset includes a game show, andthe application data provides an application for allowing a user/viewerto play at the user's location (e.g., the user's home), then earlybinding may be used by the game show producer in order to protectintellectual property rights associated with the presentation of thegame show and in order to promote consistency for all viewings. On theother hand, if the content asset includes a U.S. presidential speech,then late binding may be used to tailor the application to a geographiclocation in which the speech will be displayed. For example, if a userequipment device is located in Texas, then a service provider associatedwith a distribution point might emphasize in the application data thoseportions of the speech related to gun control laws, whereas if the userequipment device is located in New York, then the service provider mightemphasize in the application data those portions of the speech relatedto finance or the economy. If the content asset relates to children'sprogramming, such as cartoons, user binding may be used to reinforceeducational aspects of the programming based on a child's current rateof learning, thereby providing a high degree of individualizedcustomization of the application presented in conjunction with theprogramming

FIG. 6 illustrates an architecture that may be used to facilitate earlybinding. In particular, FIG. 6 illustrates a content provider 602 thatmay receive a content asset and an application (optionally in the formof application data). The content asset may be received via one or moremediums. For example, the content asset may be stored on a CD or a tape,received via an electronic transmission, wirelessly, etc. The contentasset may be played using, e.g., a deck (not shown in FIG. 6), theoutput of which would feed an encoder 608 configured to encode thecontent asset. The output of encoder 608 may serve as an input to amultiplexer (mux) 614. The application may be prepared using one or moretool sets (e.g., OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP), Enhanced TVBinary Interchange Format (EBIF), etc.) and may be provided to contentprovider 602, and more specifically, a packager 620 that may beconfigured to stream application data to mux 614. In some embodiments,packager 620 may be configured to convert source code (e.g., iTV sourcecode) into one or more streams (e.g., a byte stream) that can be muxedto a transport stream. Mux 614 may be configured to combine the(encoded) audio/video output of encoder 608 with the application dataoutput of packager 620, thereby achieving a binding of the applicationdata to the content asset data (e.g., audio/video). Mux 614 may beconfigured to generate a file of the combined application data with thecontent asset data, which may be transmitted to central office 103 (orsome other location) for further distribution.

FIG. 7 illustrates an architecture that may be used to facilitate latebinding. Relative to FIG. 6, FIG. 7 performs a binding or combination ofthe application data with (encoded) content asset data (which may beoutput from encoder 608 in FIG. 7) at central location 103 via a splicer706. Splicer 706 may generate data content and output that data contentsuitable for transmission in accordance with one or more communicationprotocols or standards.

In some embodiments, splicer 706 may include components or circuitrysimilar to mux 614 shown in FIG. 6. In some embodiments, centrallocation 103 may receive a selection of a content asset and/or anapplication from a UED, and in response to the selection, centrallocation 103 may select a content asset or content asset data (e.g.,audio/video) and/or one or more applications or application data to bindat splicer 706. Alternatively, or additionally, the selections may beconveyed further upstream to content provider 602 to facilitate theselection of content asset(s) and application(s), or binding the twotogether at content provider 602.

In user binding, a combination of content asset data and applicationdata may occur at a UED, such as at a computer, a gateway, a set topbox, a mobile device, etc. In some embodiments, components or circuitssimilar to mux 614 and splicer 706 may be included in the UED to achievethe user binding. When the binding is done at a UED, an assumption maybe made that the new application will fit within a space or capacityallocated during a video compression. For example, if during a videocompression phase 300 kbits are reserved in a first frame in the form ofan early bound application or null packets, late binding might only beable to replace 300 kbits in the first frame. In some embodiments, anasset may be re-encoded to reallocate or shift an amount of capacityavailable to one or more of the asset and the application.

FIG. 8 illustrates another architecture that may be used to bind contentasset data and application data. A packager 804 (which may includecomponents or devices, and/or may provide functionality similar topackager 620 of FIG. 6) may generate and provide an application (such asan iTV application) to a carousel 808 (as shown via the arrow couplingpackager 804 to carousel 808). Carousel 808 may characterize theapplication and provide those characteristics (optionally in the form ofinformation or data) to a controller 812 (as shown via the line couplingcarousel 808 and controller 812). Controller 812 may receive theapplication characteristics and video characteristics (optionally in theform of information or data) associated with video (as shown via theline coupling “video” to controller 812) and set a bit rate per frame tobe associated with the video (as shown via the line coupling controller812 to an encoder 816). Based on the bit rate provided by controller 812and the input video, encoder 816 (which may include components ordevices, and/or may provide functionality similar to encoder 608 ofFIGS. 6-7) may encode the input video and pad the (encoded) video withnulls, generating padded video (as shown via the arrow coupling encoder816 to a groomer 820). Groomer 820 may receive the padded video fromencoder 816 and a bitstream from carousel 808 (as shown via the arrowcoupling carousel 808 to groomer 820) and may generate enhanced video atthe output of groomer 820 (as shown via the output arrow from groomer820). As part of the enhanced video generation, groomer 820 may replacenulls with a(n application) bitstream, using that bitstream to replacenulls in the video that were padded via encoder 816 as shown in FIG. 8.

In some embodiments, the different types of bindings may be combined.For example, early binding may be used to provide a default set of datavalues to support an application, and those default values may beoverridden via one or more of late binding and user binding. Moreover,aspects, components, and/or devices of the various architecturesdescribed herein may be combined in some embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates a method that may be used in connection with one ormore of the architectures described herein. In step 902, content assetdata (e.g., audio/video data) associated with a content asset andapplication data may be generated. The content asset data and/orapplication data may be generated by, or received from, a contentsource, a service provider, a network operator, a third party, etc.,using one or more recording mediums and one or more tool suites.

In step 908, the application data may be bound to the content assetdata. For example, one or more of early binding, late binding, and userbinding may be performed to associate the content asset data with theapplication data. The binding of step 908 may be in response to a userselection of a content asset or an application in some embodiments.

In step 914, a capacity for the content asset data and application datamay be allocated. The allocated capacity may be a function of the totalcapacity or bandwidth available in a given system, the processing poweror capabilities associated with various devices in the system, the loadin the system, or other criteria. As part of allocating capacity, aprofile similar to the profiles shown in connection with FIGS. 3-5 (orany other profile) may be generated or realized.

In step 920, the content asset data with the bound application(s) datamay be transmitted to one or more devices, such as a distribution module(e.g., a router), a UED, etc. In some embodiments, the transmissionassociated with step 920 may take place automatically or in accordancewith a schedule. Alternatively, in some embodiments a user may take somespecified action with respect to a content asset or an application inorder to prompt the transmission.

In step 926, feedback data may be analyzed or examined. The feedbackdata may relate to the use of the application(s) in conjunction with thecontent asset. Based at least in part on the analysis of the feedbackdata, one or more actions may take place. For example, if the contentasset includes an advertisement, and there has been little to nopurchase orders for the advertised product or service, the method mayloop-back to step 914 to increase the allocated capacity for theapplication data relative to the content asset data in an effort toincrease sales. Similarly, if an analysis of the feedback data indicatesthat users are initially selecting to purchase the advertised product orservice, only to cancel their orders when presented with a paymentdisplay screen associated with the application, the method may loop-backto step 908 to bind an improved and less confusing payment displayscreen associated with the content asset data. Similarly, the method mayloop-back in response to an affirmative user selection to do so, such asa user requesting a second or different application by depressing abutton or widget associated with a first application.

While discussed above in the context of binding applications to acontent asset, in some embodiments the relationship may be reversed,e.g., a content asset may be bound to one or more applications. Whenbinding applications to a content asset, a UED may extract data PIDsfrom, e.g., an audio/video transport stream, the application may beloaded from memory, and triggers may be analyzed to determine whenvarious events associated with the application should be executed. Whenbinding a content asset to an application, the intelligence or driversmay be embedded in, or reside within, the application for driving anaudio/video presentation—for example, a widget may be included on a webpage that, when selected, causes the retrieval and playback ofaudio/video content.

Aspects of this disclosure may readily be applied to, and adapted to beoperative on, one or more communication systems. Those communicationsystems may include computer networks, television networks, satellitenetworks, telephone and cellular networks, and the like. Moreover, insome embodiments the communication systems (and the devices andcomponents included therewith) may communicate with one another inaccordance with one or more communication protocols or standards. Forexample, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a general-purpose, openindustry standard for voice and multimedia communications overpacket-based IP networks. IMS may serve as a foundation for technologieslike voice over IP (VoIP), push-to-talk (PTT), push-to-view, videocalling, and video sharing. IMS may be based on the session initiationprotocol (SIP). For users, IMS-based services may enableperson-to-person and person-to-content communications in a variety ofmodes, including voice, text, pictures, and video, or any combination ofthese—in a highly personalized and controlled way.

Although not required, various aspects described herein may be embodiedas a method, a data processing system, and/or as a transitory and/ornon-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions.Accordingly, those aspects may take the form of an entirely hardwareembodiment, an entirely software embodiment, an entirely firmwareembodiment, or an embodiment combining software, firmware and hardwareaspects. The functionality may be resident in a single computing device,or may be distributed across multiple computing devices/platforms, themultiple computing devices/platforms optionally being connected to oneanother via one or more networks. Moreover, the structural componentsdescribed herein may be distributed amongst one or more devices,optionally within a common housing or casing.

Various signals representing content, data, or events as describedherein may be transferred between a source and a destination in the formof electromagnetic waves traveling through signal-conducting media suchas metal wires, optical fibers, and/or wireless transmission media(e.g., air and/or space).

The various methods and acts may be operative across one or morecomputing servers and one or more networks. The functionality may bedistributed in any manner, or may be located in a single computingdevice (e.g., a server, a client computer, etc.). As discussed herein, acontent asset or an application may be distributed tointermediary/network components and client-side devices at various timesand in various formats. The distribution and transmission techniquesdescribed herein may leverage existing components and infrastructure tominimize power dissipation, operational complexity, footprint size, andmanagement involvement, amongst other factors and costs.

The methodological acts and processes may be tied to particular machinesor apparatuses. For example, as described herein, a content asset or anapplication may be distributed to a user location via one or morecomputing devices (e.g., servers) and that content asset or applicationmay be displayed, played, used, or consumed at the user location via oneor more UEDs and/or display devices. The content may be formatted inaccordance with one or more transmission techniques, types, orprotocols, such as via broadcast and narrowcast distribution models.More generally, one or more computers may include one or more processorsand memory storing instructions, that when executed, perform themethodological acts and processes described herein. Furthermore, themethodological acts and processes described herein may perform a varietyof functions including transforming an article (e.g., content asset dataand/or application data) into a different state or thing (e.g., contentasset data and/or application data that is distributed in accordancewith a “non-horizontal” profile).

In some embodiments, a control plane may be used to control a flow ortransfer of information or data. The control plane may provide logic andcontrol for video/audio compression and insertion of variable bit rate(VBR) application data. In some embodiments the control plane maycontrol or command a carousel (e.g., carousel 808 of FIG. 8) to generateVBR streams. In some embodiments the control plane may generate and senda constant bit rate (CBR) stream from a carousel (e.g., carousel 808 ofFIG. 8) to a groomer (e.g., groomer 820 of FIG. 8). Then the groomer mayaccept a VBR stream, or convert the CBR stream into a VBR applicationdata stream, as it creates the CBR (or a capped VBR) transport stream.In some embodiments, space may be reserved for inserting the applicationdata, which may be a function of a video compression phase of theworkflow. The reservation of space during video and audio compressionmay be the responsibility of the control plane in some embodiments. Insome embodiments a VBR application stream may be packaged with videoand/or audio for delivery to a terminal device (e.g., an iTV enabledterminal).

In some embodiments, the control plane may comprise one or moreprocessors and memory storing instructions that, when executed by theone or more processors, perform one or more of the methodological actsdescribed herein. In some embodiments, the control plane may comprisemetadata passed to an apparatus, architecture, or system to facilitatethe control or flow of data or information. For example, the metadatamay be used to facilitate binding operations or an allocation ofcapacity in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the control plane maybe located at or within one or more locations or devices. For example,the control plane may be located at content provider 602 or centraloffice 103 of FIGS. 6 and 7 (or any of the devices located in contentprovider 602 or central office 103). In some embodiments, the controlplane may be located in one or more of the entities shown in FIG. 8(e.g., packager 804, carousel 808, controller 812, encoder 816, groomer820).

Aspects of the disclosure have been described in terms of illustrativeembodiments thereof. While illustrative systems and methods as describedherein embodying various aspects of the present disclosure are shown, itwill be understood by those skilled in the art, that the disclosure isnot limited to these embodiments. Modifications may be made by thoseskilled in the art, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings.For example, each of the features of the aforementioned illustrativeexamples may be utilized alone or in combination or subcombination withelements of the other examples. For example, any of the above describedsystems and methods or parts thereof may be combined with the othermethods and systems or parts thereof described above in any order. Itwill also be appreciated and understood that modifications may be madewithout departing from the true spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure. The description is thus to be regarded as illustrativeinstead of restrictive on the present disclosure.

1. A method comprising: associating application data to content assetdata; allocating capacity for each of the application data and thecontent asset data in accordance with a non-horizontal profile; andtransmitting, from a server, the content asset data and the applicationdata based at least in part on the allocated capacity.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the non-horizontal profile comprises a vertical profilewith respect to the application data.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe non-horizontal profile comprises at least one non-linear functionwith respect to the application data.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe associating comprises an early binding of the application data tothe content asset data at a content provider location.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the associating comprises a late binding of theapplication data to the content asset data at a central office.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the associating comprises a user binding ofthe application data to the content asset data at a user equipmentdevice.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the content asset datacomprises at least one of audio data and video data, and wherein thecontent asset data is associated with a content asset, and wherein thecontent asset comprises an advertisement, and wherein the applicationdata comprises at least one of electronic programming guide (EPG) data,interactive programming guide (IPG) data, and closed captioning data. 8.The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving feedback data basedon a use of at least one of the content asset data and the applicationdata; analyzing the feedback data; modifying at least one of the contentasset data and the application data based at least in part on theanalyzed feedback data; and transmitting the modified at least onecontent asset data and application data.
 9. An apparatus comprising: acontrol processor configured to cause the apparatus to: associateapplication data to content asset data, allocate capacity for each ofthe application data and the content asset data in accordance with anon-horizontal profile, and transmit the content asset data and theapplication data based at least in part on the allocated capacity. 10.The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising: an encoder configured toencode the content asset data; and at least one of a splicer and amultiplexer configured to associate the application data to the contentasset data.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the control processoris further configured to cause the apparatus to: generate at least onefile comprising the content asset data and the associated applicationdata, and transmit the at least one file.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9,wherein the non-horizontal profile comprises a vertical profile withrespect to the application data.
 13. The apparatus of claim 9, whereinthe non-horizontal profile comprises at least one non-linear functionwith respect to the application data.
 14. The apparatus of claim 9,wherein the allocated capacity for the application data comprises theentirety of a transmission capacity during a first portion of a contentasset associated with the content asset data, the first portioncoinciding with a start of the content asset, and wherein the allocatedcapacity for the application data comprises none of the transmissioncapacity during a second portion of the content asset, the secondportion coinciding with an end of the content asset.
 15. The apparatusof claim 9, wherein the content asset data comprises at least one ofaudio data and video data, and wherein the content asset data isassociated with a content asset, and wherein the content asset comprisesan advertisement, and wherein the application data comprises at leastone of electronic programming guide (EPG) data, interactive programmingguide (IPG) data, and closed captioning data.
 16. The apparatus of claim9, wherein the control processor is configured to cause the apparatusto: receive feedback data based on a use of at least one of the contentasset data and the application data, analyze the feedback data, modifyat least one of the content asset data and the application data based atleast in part on the analyzed feedback data, and transmit the modifiedat least one content asset data and application data.
 17. The apparatusof claim 9, wherein the control processor is operative on metadatapassed to the apparatus to control at least one of the associating ofapplication data to content asset data and the allocation of capacityfor each of the application data and the content asset data inaccordance with the non-horizontal profile.
 18. The apparatus of claim9, wherein the control processor is configured to cause the apparatus totransmit the content asset data and the application data in accordancewith an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) standard.
 19. A method comprising:receiving application data bound to content asset data; and renderingthe application data and the content asset data at a user equipmentdevice in accordance with a non-horizontal profile.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, wherein the content asset data comprises video data and audiodata, and wherein rendering the content asset data comprises displayingthe video data on a display screen associated with the user equipmentdevice and rendering the audio data comprises playing the audio data onan output audio device associated with the user equipment device.